OMG, New Year, New Me. It’s Jan 1. I’m going to get a gym membership, lose 40 pounds, see my abs, bench 300 pounds, change jobs, write a book, learn to speak Spanish, learn guitar, mend my relationships with my family and friends, donate my time to a soup kitchen and finally be the person I knew I could be all along.
So it had to be Jan 1? Maybe you’ll start when Venus goes retrograde, or only on the first of the month that starts on a Monday. Because we can’t start doing anything important on a Thursday afternoon. Perhaps you’ll get moving when you retire or when you can afford a better car or when the price of corn goes up. If you plan to begin on Monday, and then make a mistake on Tuesday, you certainly don't have to wait until the Monday to begin all over again. Accept the mistake and go on. Monday isn't that damned special.
What does it take? Honestly, it just takes deciding.
Deciding that what’s going on now isn’t going to continue. Deciding that something needs to change. Deciding that something must be done. Deciding that you’re going to do it.
Change is difficult, I know. Change takes guts and bravery and courage and willpower. Change takes motivation, discipline, and habit.
When I was on the police department there was a saying that the only things cops hate more than change is the way things are right now. Is your hatred and disappointment in the way things are today stronger than your desire to do something about it? Flip that.
It takes deciding. It doesn’t require a special date. It doesn’t require all the planets to line up in the sky, which is about to happen again, by the way.
It only takes you making that first step.
This requires motivation. Motivation is that decision to do something. After you’ve done it once, you now move into the next phase of the plan. The most difficult phase. The one that really counts.
Discipline.
Discipline is doing something you don’t want to do but doing it anyway and doing it like you love it.
Discipline eventually becomes a habit. This is when the thing you want to do comes naturally because you know no other way. You couldn’t imagine life without doing this.
Many people want to get into better shape and become a healthier version of themselves. This happens every Jan 1. The problem is that no one knows what to do once they get to the gym. They think they need special clothes, special watches and equipment, and really expensive shoes. Then they have to overcome the fear of being judged once they arrive.
What will people think of me if I don’t look like some supermodel or a Jenner or Kardashian or something? OMG, I’m not in shape, I can’t go to the gym. (Honestly, isn't going to the gym the very means by which you get into shape?)
Once this is overcome, the next hurdle is to determine what to do. So most people just do every machine in the gym. And they do too much. The lovely trick the gym pulls on you is that the soreness takes a day or two to hit. And boy howdy does it ever. If you haven’t been to the gym since your last resolution, you’re going to be sore as hell. This keeps you from going to the gym again the next day, and the day after. Then the light has gone out of the coals, and momentum stops. Well maybe next year. Next Jan 1.
If you want to learn Spanish, you’re not going to spend 6 hours on Babbel in one day and try to take it all in. You’re going to learn about 4 words. Same with any endeavor. You're not going to practice on your brand new guitar for 7 hours that first day, no matter what Bryan Adams says.
The thing is…
You have to want to do something different. Then you have to decide to that you’re going to do something different. Changing nothing changes nothing and then nothing changes.
This doesn’t have to be confined to getting into shape or losing weight; it just so happens that this time of year everyone is dedicated to that endeavor. It could be about finding a better job, learning a language, picking up a hobby.
It doesn’t take a special day to make great strides in your life.
It only takes today. And tomorrow. And the next day.
Don’t wait for a special day. Today is a special day.
Just go do it. Today.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Board Certified Massage Therapist, Holistic Health Authority, Reiki Master Teacher, Herbalist, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He owns Tri State Holistic Wellness and combines bodywork, energy work, and coaching to improve quality of life by healing from the outside in and from the inside out.
Weeg sells Nature’s Sunshine Products, Pure Herbs Ltd., doTERRA, and Juice Plus+. Weeg suggests lifestyle changes and provides herbal remedies to his clients so they may build new habits for long life and vibrant health. He teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.
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